Andrea Davies, who has been working at Ysgol y Llan Church in Wales school for 18 years, was presented with the TDA Teaching Assistant of the Year award at a ceremony in Cardiff.

She said: “It was a lovely and I feel very honoured. I didn’t expect to win.”

Mrs Davies, who works with children between the ages of three and five, was one of three finalists in the category to attend the ceremony in Cardiff and found out she was nominated for the award about six weeks ago.

She said: “My colleagues had nominated me but they didn’t tell me. They eventually let me know when the judges came to the school but it was a bit of a shock.”

Parents and pupils wrote letters of support to the awards’ organisers for Mrs Davies, who plans to continue working at the school for the foreseeable future.